Families of US journalists beg N Korea for compassion

The families of two jailed US reporters have appealed for North Korea to "show compassion" and said they were "devastated" by news the women had been sentenced to 12 years in a labour camp.

6:00AM BST 09 Jun 2009

In their first public remarks since North Korea announced the punishment, the families of reporters Laura Ling and Euna Lee apologised on their behalf if they accidentally strayed into the hardline communist state.

The two families were "shocked and devastated" by the sentences, they said in a joint statement.

"We are very concerned about their mental state and well-being," it said.

"We ask the government of North Korea to show compassion and grant Laura and Euna clemency and allow them to return home to their families," it said.

"We remain hopeful that the governments of the United States and North Korea can come to an agreement that will result in the release of the girls."

Related Articles

The statement noted that Ms Ling suffered from an ulcer and that Ms Lee had a four-year-old daughter.

"Laura has a serious medical condition that is sure to be exacerbated by the drastic sentence," the statement said.

Ms Lee's daughter "is displaying signs of anguish over the absence of her mother," it said.

"We believe that the three months they have already spent under arrest with little communication with their families is long enough."

The two women, who worked for California-based Current TV, were detained on March 17 along the frontier with China while they were researching a story about refugees fleeing the North.

North Korea, which is in the midst of a standoff with the United States over its nuclear and missile programs, said the two were convicted for illegal border crossing along with an unspecified "grave crime they committed against the Korean nation."